The Catrine da Costa Case

Catrine da Costa’s remains were found in the Stockholm area in 1984. Two doctors were acquitted of murder, and no one has been convicted of causing her death.

The discovery

In the summer of 1984, parts of Catrine da Costa’s remains were found in bags at locations near Stockholm. Important parts of the body were never recovered, and investigators could not establish a definitive cause of death.

A prosecution without a murder conviction

Two doctors became suspects and were tried, but the proceedings were deeply controversial. They were acquitted of murder because the prosecution could not prove how da Costa died. Subsequent administrative findings damaged their careers despite the acquittals.

Decades of legal consequences

The case generated years of appeals, public debate and competing interpretations of the forensic evidence. In 2026, the Swedish government approved ex gratia compensation for the two doctors in recognition of the extraordinary consequences they experienced after being acquitted.

Centering Catrine

The legal controversy can overshadow the victim. Catrine da Costa was a mother whose death remains unexplained. No one has been convicted of killing her, and the case remains one of Sweden’s most contested unsolved homicides.